Do I need a Will if I'm single?
If you’re young, carefree and single to mingle, a Will is probably not on your list of priorities. It’s probably not even something you’ve thought about. It’s true that once you up the ante with a spouse, a couple of kids and the ol’ picket fence, a Will becomes really important to have in place. But why is it beneficial for a single person to have a Will in place?
Here are some reasons:
Just because you’re not partnered up, doesn’t mean you don’t have assets to be dished out when you die. As a younger single person, perhaps those assets don’t include a hefty wealth portfolio and a house just yet (or maybe they do!). But that doesn’t mean you don’t have things that hold sentimental value that you’d like to be passed on to certain loved ones or charities. That art piece? Your vintage shoe collection? Your Nutri-Bullet? Your Instagram following? These are the sorts of things that hold value and that you might consider jotting down in a Will to make sure they end up where you want them to.
Alternatively, you may own assets with significant financial value. A car. A property. A thriving business. A Will is the place to outline where and how these assets get dispersed when you die. If you do own a house, for example, and know that you’d like it to go to your best friend, then you need to get that down onto paper. If you don’t have a Will when you die, then the State will use legislature to figure out who it’ll go to. And it may or may not end up going to the person you hoped it would go to.
If you’re single and die without a Will, the State will typically divide your belongings up amongst your parents, siblings and other family members. This means that your long term boyfriend or your best friend will get zilch.
A more extensive Will will deal with more than just who gets what. You can specify what you’d like to happen to your body when you die. You can include a Living Will saying how you’d like things to unfold medically if you’re unable to speak for yourself. You can say what you’d like to happen to your pets.
It’s important to make sure that if you do sign a Will, that you keep it safe and sound. Also, make sure that someone knows exactly where to find it if things go belly up for you.
Don’t have a Will?
Article adapted from here.